The Cards Have Been Dealt:

A look at what makes House of Cards so special.

"There is no solace above or below. Only us. Small.Solitary. Striving. Battling one another. I pray to myself. For myself."

-Francis Underwood (House of Cards)

In preparation for my House of Cards season 2 review, I wanted to do a short recap on this amazing series starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Kate Mara. HoC is a popular Netflix Original series about the darker side of politics and journalism in Washington. Season one and two of the series are currently available on Netflix for you to binge watch at your hearts content. The series is created and written by Oscar nominee Beau Willimon, an experienced writer whose previous credits include writing and co-producing The Ides of March, a 2011 political drama starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Netflix deploys multiple directors throughout the series to give us their own take on Beau Willimon's world of politics and mayhem.

With the offering of different well known directors and the level of talent on the show, led by two time academy award winner Kevin Spacey, it is easy to assume Netflix is banking on star power to build an audience. Spacey plays Francis Underwood, a fictional U.S. House Majority Whip with a southern drawl, and one thing on his mind: Power. Solid writing and directing helps the show move along nicely avoiding long dull episodes which sometimes tend to plague a drama series . HoC has a great deal more substance, drama and watchability than most shows available to stream on Netflix. Although it is plagued with a mass amount of reality television and C-list movies, Critically acclaimed shows like House of Cards, and ORANGE is the new BLACK are propelling Netflix to a much higher standard, helping change the way you view T.V. at home.

Creator Beau Willimon has done a great job making a show about more than just an evil politician. Using a unique connection with the audience, Beau successfully gives us a character we can root for even though he is playing the role of a villain. Beau also doubles down on this by creating moral conflicts for almost every character in the show. Creating a sense that no one is truly good and making you feel better about smiling when Francis does something dishonest.

Season 2 of HoC was released to stream on Netflix on Valentines Day of this year and starts off right where it left Francis and his wife Claire Underwood in season 1. I encourage anyone who has not seen the show to watch from the beginning so you can see why this political drama has set the bar for streaming television. Review for season 2 of House of Cards will be released starting Tuesday of next week. A great video recap can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q-5Ad38SHQ

(Frank Campos can be reached at frank.camposj@gmail.com and you can follow Frank on twitter @frankcamposj)